October 24th 2015 Worksession

After years of attempts and hours of speculation as to the cause of its immobility, today the boiler was finally separated from the frame. This was a triumph for everyone involved because without the help of a crane, the project would not have been able to move forward otherwise.

The space between smokebox and saddle can be seen here.

Jacks were set up on either side of the boiler, the swing hangers and steam saddle bolts removed, and pressure applied. As the boiler lifted, grease was smeared in the crack to keep it from locking up again and prevent further rusting. The boiler was raised about 1/8 inch, inspected, then dropped again until a proper cradle can be prepared.

Two interesting observations were made due to this: One, of the four swing hangers, not one of them is identical to another. Maynard Morris, a retired nuclear engineer, was baffled at this, observing that "one would think that if you want something this big to move, you'd want everything to be the same size." If they were each made differently to compensate for an imbalance of weight, or simply because of the make-do nature of later shop repairs on the Baldwin branch, is to be determined. Two, the smokebox bottom is completely rusted out and will have to be remade, but that is a simple feat compared to completely construction a tender tank from scratch.

Steve Jones, chapter president, greases the gap between the smokebox and the saddle.

The bubble level shows the movement of the jacks. The jack on the left rose a bit faster than the one on the right, resulting in an imbalance for a few moments.

The 223 with jacks in place. With further preparation the boiler will be moved to the cradle on the right so the running gear can be moved to the shop.